The Baker
When we first met, getting used to Sachi’s perspective on making and serving food took me a while. She would make A LOT of food for small gatherings and send people home with leftovers. She would plan meals for days and become consumed with every detail. Seeing her mind spin, I’d try to remind her that the meal could be simpler and easier to prepare. She appreciated the advice, but it didn’t change much.
Over time I came to realize a few things. First, her perspective on food was based on growing up in Hawaii, where huge amounts of food were the norm for social gatherings. As she put it to me once, “Food equals love.” Quantity matters, both in presentation and what people take home. Not enough food? That’s failure. Besides, who doesn’t want to bring a little love home with them at the end of a nice evening?
I also began to see that, for Sachi, preparing food wasn’t a burden or something to be reduced. She has a real, lifelong passion for food that is a deep part of her. When she has an idea for a dish or a dinner to plan, she’s at her happiest. When she’s had a hard day or needs a change of pace, she cooks to refocus. It sounds trite, but food is truly her happy place.
A New Adventure
It’s probably no surprise that, after building flattop, we’ve settled in and the pace of our life has changed. After years of being happily overwhelmed with construction planning on top of daily work, we now have a bit of space. Common Craft, the company we’ve run since 2007, is stable and her side of the business doesn’t require as much attention as it did. I noticed that Sachi was not as excited about the work and was looking for other ways to engage her mind. She was capable of so much more and I didn’t like seeing her cast about for the next thing.
Late last year, we started to bat around the idea of her getting a job, perhaps even full-time. We discussed remote work for a tech company, doing things like project management. This way, she could work from home and have a flexible schedule. It wasn’t a good fit. Sachi didn’t want more screen time in her life.
We refocused on local jobs, meaning on Orcas Island. Tourism is our biggest industry and the jobs are highly seasonal and involve working with tourists. Sachi is amazing at hospitality but is also an introvert who quickly becomes exhausted when working with the public.
Near the holidays an idea bubbled up that seemed to have legs. Eastsound, the main village of Orcas, has a famous bakery called Brown Bear Baking Company. The bakery is a busy place where it’s common to see lines out the door. The food, a mix of bread, croissants, pastries, quiches, sandwiches, and more, is top-notch. We know the owners and have heard about their struggles to find good help. What they needed most was a baker: someone who is serious about baking as a profession.
Photo by lifeonorcasisland.com
Sachi reached out and they invited her to become a full-time baker. I told friends that they (the owners) would quickly discover their stroke of luck. Sachi is a dream employee: a hard worker and a dedicated partner.
The Job
We both braced ourselves for big changes in our lives. Her schedule is four 10-hour days, Friday-Monday. She starts work at about 5:45 am, which seems manageable for a baker. She’s part of a small team that includes the owners, and together, they do it all. They bake loaves of bread, croissants, muffins, quiches, and more (full menu).
From the moment she walks into work, to the moment she leaves, she is busy with one project after another. Multiple oven timers are going at all times. Hours fly by and she’s mostly in the back, doing her thing. She is completely engaged and constantly learning.
The physical aspect of the job, being on her feet, leaning over a bench, and moving full sheet pans and bags of flour, took a toll initially. Over a few weeks and a new pair of shoes, she adjusted and is now accustomed to it. She comes home every day both happy and exhausted. This job seems to have filled a space in her life that needed to be filled and I’m so happy that it’s working.
Since 2007, we lived and worked together every day. Now, she’s at work much of the time and it has taken some time to adjust. She is still involved with Common Craft and I need her help often. We’ve had to figure out how to fit it all in. I’m starting to take on more of her duties and learn some of the systems and software she’s used for years.
Lifestyle Change
A big difference, personally, is how I approach weekends. I am used to having a normal weekend like most people who meet up with friends, go on adventures, etc. Now that Sachi’s weekends are Tuesday-Thursday, I’m trying to navigate my time because I can’t (or shouldn’t) have two weekends per week. Do I work on normal weekends and make Tuesday-Thursday the weekend so we can do things together? Do I work a normal workweek? I’m still figuring it out. What helps is that being alone for four days each week has done wonders for my productivity.
Sachi genuinely enjoys the job and the work. It combines her loves: making food, being engaged, and learning new skills. I have come to see her job as a baker from a romantic perspective. It’s an ancient and essential profession. People depend on her work, each day, for nourishment and joy. Her days are spent working with food and people instead of computer screens. Importantly, she gets to put real love into what she makes.
This feels like a new chapter for us both and we’re both ready for what’s next. Always forward.
I write books and run a company called Common Craft. I recently moved from Seattle to a rural island. Here, I write about online business, book publishing, modern home construction, and occasionally, dumb jokes. 
